Effect of Applying Perioperative Oxygen Therapy Guidelines on Postoperative Health Outcomes

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assist Professor of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt

2 lecturer of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt

Abstract

Background, Pulmonary complications are most common complications in
postoperative period leading to increased mortality rate. The incidence of postoperative
hypoxemia is particularly high in surgical patients. Aim, was to evaluate the effect of
applying perioperative oxygen therapy guidelines on postoperative outcomes. Methodology,
Quasi–experimental study with a purposive sample of 90 surgical patients from both gender
who were admitted to surgical ward at Mansoura University Hospital was enrolled in this
study. Patients were assigned to control and intervention group. Data were collected using
three tools: An interviewing questionnaire sheet, National Early Warning Score (NEWS),
and ASEPSIS. Results, there was a significant decrease in postoperative hypoxemia,
improved wound healing with decreased wound infection rate in the study group compared
to control group according to the NEWS and ASEPSIS Scale (p-value ≤ 0.05). Conclusion,
the study concluded that application of postoperative O2 therapy guidelines have a significant
effect in reducing postoperative hypoxemia, improved wound healing with decreased wound
infection rate. Recommendations, standardized O2 therapy guidelines should be applied at
surgical words for nurses in order to help in decreasing the rate of postoperative hypoxemia.

Keywords